When Pedro Sánchez reappeared after the disturbing five days in April in which he reflected in solitude on his continuity in office, he announced a “full stop” to deploy a plan for “democratic regeneration”. But given the lack of concreteness from the president of the central government, the second vice-president and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, demanded that the regeneration program be immediately given content.
Faced with the insistence of Díaz and the delay of Sánchez – who barely grasped the purpose of combating disinformation in the media and again unsuccessfully asked the PP to renew the General Council of the Judiciary –, the PSOE and Sumar celebrated yesterday, seven months after their leaders sealed the government agreement, the first meeting of the coalition program monitoring commission.
And the two partners agreed to create a working group to develop “democratic regeneration measures”. A battery of initiatives focused on giving shape to the commitments that, separately, they adopted after Sánchez announced his continuity at the head of the Executive after his unusual “period of reflection”.
In a joint statement sent after the more than two hours that the appointment lasted, the PSOE and Sumar agreed to highlight the “good health of the coalition”. And they highlighted the usefulness of the meeting to promote the fulfillment of the social agenda subscribed to their agreement, which was stuck in the face of Sánchez’s unilateral decision to withdraw the budget project for 2024 and keep those for 2023 extended.
From the socialist side, the first vice-president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, went to the meeting held in Congress; the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños; the Secretary of State for Relations with the Courts, Rafael Simancas; and the spokeswoman for the PSOE executive, Esther Peña. And on behalf of the confederal space, the Minister of Culture and Sumar spokesperson, Ernest Urtasun, attended; the cabinet director of the second vice president, Virginia Uzal; the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, and the secretary of Sumar’s organization, Lara Hernández. All of them, especially Hernández, members of the parent group. Which resulted in no representative of the coalition formations such as IU, Més Madrid or. In fact. the points to be put on the table of the follow-up commission had already been previously discussed with the coalition forces, especially those with ministerial portfolios.
Despite the fact that the current Government coalition does not face as many internal tensions as the one formed in the previous legislature between the PSOE and Unides Podemos, for several weeks Díaz’s formation exposed a series of discrepancies with the action of the Executive. Some, such as the sale of arms to Israel, considered a breach of the coalition agreement. And others, such as the absence of penalties for owners who exceed the price of rents, classified as “cut” laws within the application of Sumar’s social and progressive agenda.
There was more harmony in the “need” expressed by some to “recognize as soon as possible” the Palestinian State and “promote the necessary measures for the end of barbarism” in Gaza. The forecast, in fact, is that the recognition of Palestine will go ahead in the Council of Ministers next Tuesday.
Yesterday’s meeting, which was five months late, took place “after the insistent demands” of the formation led by Díaz. And it had to be the efforts made by the leadership of the two formations that finally overcame the resistance of the PSOE, which was justified by the concatenation of electoral appointments: Galicia in February, Euskadi in April and Catalonia on Sunday past
“We assume the task of having to push the Spanish Government to move forward”, they reiterate to Sumar. Although Díaz’s people are confident that they will not have to repeat their pressure measures so that the next appointment, scheduled for two months from now, will not be delayed.
